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Can Anybody Become A Good Poker Player?


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Assuming you are not mentally challenged, it is possible for anybody to make a profit playing poker? If you don't have instinct or natural talent, can you still become a decent player by being taught, reading books or gaining experience? My friend seems to think that some people can never be good nomatter what you teach them but I disagree. Thoughts?

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Assuming you are not mentally challenged, it is possible for anybody to make a profit playing poker? If you don't have instinct or natural talent, can you still become a decent player by being taught, reading books or gaining experience? My friend seems to think that some people can never be good nomatter what you teach them but I disagree. Thoughts?
Absolutely. Online poker is ridiculously easy to beat at lower limits. That's the reason why the Smash theory works. If all you are asking about is simply making a profit, no matter how small, then yes...literally anybody can make money in the long run, I believe, if they "are taught, read books and gain experience."
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Assuming you are not mentally challenged, it is possible for anybody to make a profit playing poker? If you don't have instinct or natural talent, can you still become a decent player by being taught, reading books or gaining experience? My friend seems to think that some people can never be good nomatter what you teach them but I disagree. Thoughts?
your friend is right. you NEED good instincts and ALOT of other things to be a GOOD poker player. someone who breaks even or is a marginal profit maker isnt good . but certain people just plain suck they can be tutored by phil ivey,DN, doyle, for 10 years everyday and they will still suck.
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it is possible for anybody to make a profit playing poker?Theoretically yes.Realistically no. If everyone makes profit from poker, where does the profit come from? Without 95% of losers there will be no 5% of winners, although almost 100% of the posters/players claim that they are winners.

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There's a difference between good and TP/MM. There are millions of good poker players but a select few that have TP/MM. To be somewhere in between that you will need some sort of natural feel and or talent for the game and that will help you much more in the live games where it's not needed as much online.

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One of the main ingredients to developing as a player is the desire to want to improve constantly...I've known a lot of people who were average players but simply do not have the love for the game that it takes to improve.

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I don't have tons of experience, but I've seen plenty of evidence that idiot savant type people can make money over the short term, but I doubt they could turn a profit over the course of a year or more, unless the secret they have is some innate instinct that allows them to calculate odds and such without thinking about it conciously.

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Assuming you are not mentally challenged, it is possible for anybody to make a profit playing poker? If you don't have instinct or natural talent, can you still become a decent player by being taught, reading books or gaining experience? My friend seems to think that some people can never be good nomatter what you teach them but I disagree. Thoughts?
I agree with your friend.
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it is possible for anybody to make a profit playing poker?Theoretically yes.Realistically no. If everyone makes profit from poker, where does the profit come from? Without 95% of losers there will be no 5% of winners, although almost 100% of the posters/players claim that they are winners.
EXACTLY! :club:
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Anybody with intelligence can learn to beat the game. What separates the winners from the losers over the the long-term is things like money management, tilt control and finding a level that they can beat. Not every good poker player can go on to beat the big game, only a select few can do that. However, a trained monkey could beat low limit cash games. He'll probably lose his bankroll when he takes a shot at higher stakes though.

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Does having gamble help? e.g. DN takes shots at games that are way above his bankroll, as do most of the big pros. Bankroll management seems to apply only to small time pros because there is no way to get rich without taking shots or winning a large MTT.

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your friend is right. you NEED good instincts and ALOT of other things to be a GOOD poker player. someone who breaks even or is a marginal profit maker isnt good . but certain people just plain suck they can be tutored by phil ivey,DN, doyle, for 10 years everyday and they will still suck.
This is a stupid comment and completely untrue.
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anyone can make a profit if they are willing to learn and grow, most people aren't.I have had a lot of friends that have seen me win a decent amount and eventually most of them will ask if I can teach them. I always tell them of course, then I had them TOP SSHE and a few other books and say get back to me when you have read these with any questions you have. Most of the time the books never leave my apartment, or come back in a few days saying nevermind.

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On top of Intelligence, you need focus, discipline and self control to be a solid winning poker player. I think Compulsiveness, and addiction lead to people making the same mistakes over and over, these traits hold talented players back.

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I think anybody COULD become a winning player, it's just that some people would need to put in SOOO much effort that it would be nearly impossible for them to actually do it. Some people are hindered by just not being smart enough, but more people would just lack the discipline it takes. If I was either going to mentor and back a dumb guy, or an undisciplined, unpatient guy who can't control himself or his money, I'd take the dumb guy in heartbeat.

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I disagree with whoever said if you were taught by DN everyday for 10 years you could still suck.If you do anything that long and are some what motivated, that super protege would be by far the greatest player in the forum under DN.

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anyone of average intelligence can become a semi decent player online, i think live poker reqires a little more light upstairs.
While I believe this is true, I am so much more comfortable playing live then online its incomparable for me. Is this a common feeling? I dont claim to be MM online but I do make a small profit. Mainly my playing time is too sporadic and this is a great hindrance, I believe, to anyone trying to "make it" online.
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Ahh yes, but don't forget that there are people in the world who "know everything" already. Even Daniel Negreanu could't teach those people a thing. There are two types of dumb people, those who are smart enough to know that they're dumb, and those who are so dumb they think they're smart. Luckily, lots of these people play poker.

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Some of you need to learn the difference between anybody and everybody. Of course everybody cant become winning poker players, but very nearly anybody can learn to beat some game or another. I think that just about anyone can learn to beat the lowest level online limit games. Pokerstars .05/.10 for instance can be beaten with a decent preflop strategy, and almost no postflop skills. Anyone that can follow simple directions can beat it.

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Are you sure this man could be a winning poker player?
That guy for sure is a winning poker player. Live anyway. Who can stare at him long enough to see into his soul?
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